‘What’s up, little guy?’ Watch as boater greets black bear out for a swim in Ohio River

A boater came across an unusual find Wednesday morning on the Ohio River — a black bear appearing to swim across state lines.

The bear was spotted by Teryl Heddleson as he boated between Brilliant, Ohio, and Wellsburg, West Virginia.

A 15-second video Heddleson posted on Facebook shows him coming up near the bear and greeting him as it swims.

“What’s up, little guy?” Heddleson is heard saying.

His post has been shared more than 3,000 times since Wednesday morning. He called it a “pretty cool morning at work” as it’s not often he sees black bears in the water.

Bears spend a lot of time in the water and are “excellent and strong swimmers,” Ohio Department of Natural Resources Wildlife Communications Specialist Jamey Emmert told WTRF.

Social media users got a kick out of the video and some wondered how they would have reacted if they saw a bear in the river.

“Imagine if I would’ve seen this kayaking today,” one user commented. “I would’ve just passed out.”

“That is absolutely Awesome!” one woman told Heddleson. “You are so fortunate to see something like this...a once in a lifetime. Made this work day for you a little better.”

Heddleson wrote in the comments that the bear swam from West Virginia to Ohio, then went back in the river. A photo showed the bear reach land.

This story was originally published June 3, 2021 at 10:35 AM with the headline "‘What’s up, little guy?’ Watch as boater greets black bear out for a swim in Ohio River."